Destiny: Things to learn, things to mourn
by Knight of the Jedi Order
Summary: After the fall of the Last safe City on Earth, the Titan Thalia learns what it truly means to be a Guardian, and in the process, discovers that the Light isn't what makes her strong. Join Fireteam Archimedes as they rise up to defend the Last City, and restore their home.
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

**The Cosmodrome, Prologue**

"Screw you Thalia!" I heard Serenity shout as I saw my sparrow splash some mud on her cloak when I drove by. She really likes that cloak. Maybe an unhealthy amount...

I should introduce myself. Thalia Barlow, Titan of the Last City, Sunbreaker Order. I'm a hero, apparently. I killed Oryx, captured Skolas, avenged Eris's team, and stopped SIVA. You know how stressful It is being constantly worried you'll let everyone down and they'll never look up to you again? It sucks. THIS is why Guardians need some way to vent other than each other, but I'm rambling.

"Why're we even here?" I heard my Hunter friend ask.

"Well, if you really don't remember, Zavala wants us to search for any Fallen presence still remaining and deal with them." Sara, our Warlock said, as she looked over a dusty old book she found in a sealed room.

"Yeah, what Sara said." I replied, sighing. My team can be a headache, but they're fun, you know? They complete me, in some way. Serenity offers much needed humor, and despite her high number of resets(33!), is still a crack shot with a sniper.

Sara is our genius. Somehow makes her ghost feel stupid, which is interesting. I'm just their leader.

"GET TO IT MAGGOTS!" My Ghost, Sarge, screamed. "We got drills to run! HUT TWO THREE FOUR HUT TWO THREE FOUR!"

"Sarge, be nice." I warned.

"Fine. NOW HOP TO IT!"

The three of us made our way to King's Watch, an old House of Kings hideout, and the last place we encountered Fallen in the last few weeks. everything was abandoned for some reason. Devil spire, the Plaguelands, the Forgotten Shore, the Mothyards, everything. Just...empty. It's weird. Maybe we finally broke them.

Anyway, it doesn't take long to reach Kings Watch, though we do have to dig It out of the snow. We soon head inside

Inside, the place is a mess. Piles upon piles of torn banners and armor of the Fallen House of Kings scattered about. Destroyed Shanks, and shattered Servitors corrupted with SIVA, their lights pulsating, as if they weren't really dead, but sleeping. As we move further in, we start finding bodies of House Devils. As if they tried to force their way in and kill the Kings, but judging by the lack of House Kings bodies, either the Kings took their dead, or the Devils didn't kill anyone. Deep inside, in the control center, we find a lot more bodies, and even a skiff that crashed into the roof, sheared in half by something, likely flak fire, or just rust and age.

"Sarge, contact Zavala, tell him there's nothing here."

"Aye aye, Thalia."

"Commander Zavala, this is the Ghost Sarge, of Fireteam Archimedes. The last Fallen hideout is empty. The Cosmodrome is secure."

"Excellent." I hear Zavala say. "Return to the Tower, we'll have a reward waiting. Zavala out."

"Team, let's get moving." I order, as we head outside and return to our ships.


	2. Chapter 2: The Fall

As our ships approached the Last City, we realized a large storm was passing over. _Must've come here during the flight._ I thought.

"Tower flight control, this is the Titan Thalia of Fireteam Archimedes. Requesting permission to land. I say again, Tower flight control, requesting permission to land." Nothing. Weird.

"No response. Tower flight control, do you copy?" Nothing once more. Only silence. Either this storm is interfering with communications, or something is very wrong.

"Team, speed up. The Tower isn't responding." I called out, as the three of us rushed to the Tower.

Unfortunately, my fears were true. The Tower was under attack! By the Cabal no less! We transmat into the catwalk still standing where the Hall of the Vanguard was, as made our way up. The Cabal we encountered here, weren't Dust Giants, Blind Legion, Sand Eaters, or anyone else we encountered on Mars. Sarge tagged them as Red Legion, saying that they have "Never known defeat".

Slowly, we pushed forward, eventually reaching lord Shaxx, a Titan worthy of respect from the most narcissistic Warlock or the most… Cayde like Hunter.

"Ah, the Slayer of Oryx! And her fireteam! My armory is open to you! Use what you find wisely!" He pried the door open, and the three of us went in. I grabbed a new Heavy weapon to replace Sol Edge for now, taking a Machine Gun to replace it, while Sara took a Rocket Launcher. Serenity-33 just tapped her foot in impatience. Guess her weapons are special to her. Loaded up with new weapons, we move forward into the hangar, myself taking point. Any Cabal were quickly dispatched by No Time To Explain, until we encountered a Centurion, who launched himself in the air and fired at us, forcing us to disperse. Serenity took aim with her Devil's Dawn and shattered his shield, then aimed for his head, while Sara and I dealt with the Legionaries.

Once that was dealt with, we headed over to the Tower Plaza, where Zavala fought a group of Cabal in front of the door where Iron Banner was once held.

"Fireteam Archimedes, to me! We need to defend these transports!" He ordered, as they rushed to him, right as he activated his Ward of Dawn and blocked a missile barrage from a Cabal ship. Shortly after, a wave of Cabal troops came in via what I can only call drop pods, even killing a Guardian unlucky enough to be underneath them, though she safely respawned. I fired No Time To Explain, regaining rounds for Precision shots, Serenity fired her hand cannon, The First Curse(claims she lost Ace of Spades in a bet with Cayde), killing Legionaries in one shot to the head, and Sara launched a Nova bomb, vaporizing a group of Cabal as they left their pods. Serenity took advantage of the orbs she generated and fired off her Golden Gun, killing the last of that wave.

It went on like this for a few minutes, with Zavala shielding us from missiles after each wave. After the third wave, we heard Ikora mention the Speaker, and that he didn't make it to the transport. Zavala ordered us to find the Speaker. We moved out, and… it was gone. The Speaker's quarters were completely destroyed. Ikora was clearly angry, as she jumped onto a Cabal ship and brought it down with her bare hands, only assisted with Void energy. It was...rather impressive, actually.

We continue on, past the door near the Speaker's quarters, clearing it of enemies quickly. It's not long before Amanda Holiday picks us up and takes us to the Command Ship.

Now, this thing was massive. Not as big as the Dreadnaught, but bigger than any other Cabal ship I've ever seen. I have Sarge scan a nearby terminal when I near it, and he tells us what to do.

"Listen up, maggots! We have a few targets! Thalia, you take the shields. Serenity, you try and disable the engines and bring this ship down."

"How am I supposed to do that?" The Exo Hunter asked.

"Shoot whatever looks important. Sara, disable the weapons! NOW MOVE OUT MAGGOTS!" The three of us split up, and I head for the shields. I kill whatever I find, obviously, but I doubt you want to hear about everything bullet I fired until I finally disable the shield generator. I try to contact my Fireteam, only to get static from anyone I try to call. Nothing but static.

Sarge and I keep going though, reaching the outside, where we see the full extent of the attack. Craters in several areas, the Tower in ruins, the wall itself now having massive holes.

"This is… Impossible. How are we supposed to come back from this?" I ask, mostly to myself. Then I hear it. I hear… _**Him. Gaul.**_

" **You don't. Welcome to a world, without** _ **Light!**_ " He gestures to the Traveller, as some sort of cage closes around it. It was as if my Light was ripped from my very body. Sarge falls to the ground. I myself fall to my knees, and hold him tight. I look up as Gaul approaches.

" **Do not look at me, Creature!"** He kicks me across the ship, and approaches onc.

" **You are weak. Undisciplined! Cowering behind walls! You're not brave! You've merely forgotten the fear of death. Allow me to reacquaint you.** " He kicked me once again, this time to the edge, where I dropped Sarge.

" **Your kind never deserved the power you were given. I am Gaul. And your Light..."** He points at the Traveller while glaring at me.

" **Is mine."** That was the last I heard, before he sent me crashing back down to earth, Lightless for the first time, and utterly terrified.


	3. Chapter 3: Escape from the City(Updated)

Terror. That's all I felt as I fell to the Earth. _This is it,_ I thought, _this fall… I won't survive._ Well, imagine my surprise that I did survive. I was in tremendous pain and could barely walk. I forced myself up, and nearly fell back down from the pain.

 _Look at me. Breaker of Kells, slayer of Dark gods, reduced to a girl running and scared for her life. What would Zavala think...of...me…_

I didn't even know if the Vanguard survived. I didn't even know if my Fireteam survived. Without the Vanguard, we have no hope… I limp forward, each step taking a ton of effort. I see bodies of Guardians lying around, gunned by the Cabal. I manage to grab my gun, No Time To Explain, which was severely damaged, and limped on. I was lucky I wasn't seen before I found sarge. I collapsed to the floor as he saw me, and floated over.

"Thalia, you're hurt… We need to leave the city now. The Cabal are executing Lightless Guardians. If they find you… I can't revive you." No revives. No second chances. No more Light. Guess Thalia the Unbreakable wasn't so unbreakable after all.

We eventually make our way of the City, passing more piles of bodies. I even recognized a few Guardians. One was a Warlock named Fintra. Was the first member of my first fireteam, Fireteam Hades, along with a Hunter named Rogue-5. And here she was, dead, once and for all. Yes, I felt distraught to say the least, yes, I felt she didn't deserve this. But I also knew that i was on borrowed time. I would grieve later, when I could rest I needed to find somewhere to rest. I looted them for ammo, and moved on.

We came up on a clearing, where Sarge and I stopped, after hearing sounds of gunfire. There, I saw a Guardian in full New Monarchy armor from the time of the Wolf Rebellion get…. _Mauled and ripped to shreds._ Blood, guts, and whatever else he had was strewn about. It was horrifying. I had never seen so much gore in one place. Other Cabal troops burned what remained, and smashed his Ghost into a million pieces. The War Beasts howled and sniffed around for other Guardians. I looked to Sarge, as he gestured for us to go around them. I nodded, and started making my way over to head around.

I thought I was in the clear once I got past them, but I heard another howl from behind me, before one of those damned War Beasts pounced on me. I barely held it back as it tried to tear into my flesh. I slammed my fist into the side of its head, before remembering that I don't have my Light anymore. I put my hands around its throat and started choking it, knowing that I couldn't grab my sidearm in this position. I squeezed its scaled throat as hard as I could, until it started being less ferocious. I kicked it off then, and put a few rounds into its head, before I ran off, not wanting another encounter.

So, after that, Sarge and I take a rest a few miles outside the City. And let me tell you, that was the first time I cried in a long time. The weight of the entire situation fully hit me, like an Interceptor at full speed, or a Spider Walker falling on top of me. I buried my head into my knees, and cried. I lost my home. I lost everything, maybe even my mentor and friends. But worst of all, i failed. I was the invincible wall that everyone looked up to. Even Saladin said the Darkness had much to fear in me. Shaxx said I rivaled Ikora in the Crucible. I know now, that I am none of that. I am Human.

It took a few hours to actually sleep. That night, I had a dream. A dream of Io, and of a shard of the Traveller, calling me to come to it. I didn't recognize the area, except that it was forested. But given how big the shard was, it couldn't be too hard to find, right? When morning came, Sarge woke me up bright and early, and gestured - as best he could - to get up, which I did. My first day without the City. And what do I have to show for it? A sore back and an empty stomach. I sighed and started walking. This would be a long journey. But I don't know here it'll take me. I just know that I have to get away. I could even flee, pretend to be dead, and let everyone else deal with it. I mean, I… I…

No. I'm still a Guardian. Saladin didn't give up after the Iron Lords died. Eris didn't give up after losing her Fireteam to Crota. I need to push forward, and do what I can to help survivors.

Over the next week, I manage to avoid more Cabal patrols, and even get a view of the City at Twilight Gap. It was… I don't know how to describe it. It was in ruins. The Traveller captured like some sort of pet. This is horrible. I wish Zavala were here. He'd make a plan, and we'd retake the City! But… He isn't. It's just me. Just me. I could be the last Guardian left. I didn't even think of that. Crap. Sarge mentions seeing the same Falcon, and that we should follow it. Maybe it'll lead us somewhere. So, I do, and nearly fall to my death when the damn thing lands! But luckily, or maybe not so lucky, I awaken to a woman in a Poncho, who introduces herself as Hawthorne, and her bird Luis. What a peculiar woman. I mean, who wears a Poncho? Why not a cloak or a duster? Regardless, it was clear she wasn't a Guardian. I'm just happy she had been here just in time to rescue me.

Soon, we're on our way to the European Dead Zone, and to a place called the Farm.


	4. Chapter 4: Spark Reignited

After staying at the Farm for a night, Sarge and I made our way to the Shard of the Traveller. Hawthorne thought it was a terrible idea, but we pressed on.

Going into the forest, it was as if I was on another planet entirely. It was dark, and there were massive boulders floating around in different places. Soon, we encountered a glowing spot, a figure. As we approached, it spoke.

"... **Some Titan Orders predate the City, born of a darker time, when the Light was an untamed weapon. The Sunbreakers brought honor to the WIlds, never seeking the safety of the City.** "

I approach another. " **...Bound by an oath, they live as Mercenaries, seeking battle and alliances beyond the Walls. Now the Light of their fire has at last found rank among the City. Forge the fury of undying Suns. Wield the Hammer of Sol with honor, Titan. It is a thing of legend, both past and future.** "

Then another. It was lessons. History. " **How do I know the Sunbreakers? I fought with them at the pinnacle of the Wall. Shoulder to Shoulder. They died right alongside us that day for a City they felt had abandoned them. I admired that. Never thought I would see the Light of their Hammers in the City again, but that Guardian… That Guardian always surprises me.** "

Then another. Except… This one was me. My advice to young Titans, and something for the history books. " **What do I know about being a Sunbreaker? What can I tell to a new Titan? Simple. Defenders are the Wall. Strikers are the Fist that defend it. But Sunbreakers? We're the Hammer that built the Wall, and will keep it from crumbling. We're the embers that will never go out, so long as Light exists. We're Light in a pure, raw form. That is what it means to be a Sunbreaker. Use your Light, and burn away all that would destroy our homes."**

I sigh. I remember when I said that too. It was just after the SIVA crisis. Zavala wanted me to train a couple young Guardians, and one of them wanted advice. This is what I gave him.

I keep going forward, until I find a group of Fallen. O course, i kill them quickly, but the thing is, I didn't recognize their colors. Not the Red of Devils, the Yellow of Kings, the Blue of Wolves, or the White of Winter. It was purple. So, after that, I press on, and eventually reach the Shard after several more fights. Sarge goes over to it, and is filled with Light once again along with myself. But after that, we're attacked by Fallen. I use my returned Light to fight them off. Embers landing in different areas from the Hammer of Sol impacting, leaving behind fires that burn out soon after. It doesn't take long at all to deal with them, and once we're done, Sarge suggests we rest before we head back, and try and contact my Fireteam. I nod, and sit down across from the Shard.

Imagine my surprise when he gets a signal from Serenity and Sara. One from the Plaguelands, and the other, the Ishtar Sink. I had Sarge mark their locations for later use, before drifting off to sleep. Sure, I don't need sleep, but it's still great to rest sometimes.


End file.
